Yawan, Murielle D.

11- Einstein March 4, 2019

Glow-in-the-dark tobacco plants

The Starlight Avatar— is a

genetically-modified version of the
ornamental tobacco species Nicotiana
alata—emits light bright enough to be
seen by the naked human eye.
 First made known to the world in 2010 via
Krichevsky’s study in the journal PLOS ONE, the
Starlight Avatar has been genetically engineered to
possess a “complete metabolic pathway required
for light emission,” naturally generating a blue-
green light without relying on chemicals or external
black light sources.
According to Krichevsky, while bioluminescent plants have already been produced in
laboratories during the last two decades, the Starlight Avatar is the first plant that naturally
glows by itself.
''Starlight Avatar… glows on its own (no chemicals or UV lights needed) and is visible to a
human eye with minimal adaptation time. The light emission is integral and natural to the plant,
same as it is for fireflies, and will continue through plant's life cycle and from generation to
generation.'” The plant can only survive for 2-3 months, as much of its energy is consumed in
order for it to glow.
Bioglow’s website says while the plant took years of research, the company plans to continue
working to increase light output and hopes to develop warmer yellow and red-toned light that
would ostensibly be more suitable for home use, as well as perhaps one day creating flowers
whose petals would glow in different colours from the plant’s leaves, or plants that could light up
to signal changes in pollution levels or other environmental stressors.

Synthetic Bacteria Help Treat Phenylketonuria in Mice

People with phenylketonuria have to stick to strict diets to prevent the toxic buildup of
phenylalanine (Phe), a key constituent of proteins, which otherwise can lead to severe
neurological and cognitive impairments.
Researchers at Synlogic, a Massachusetts-based biotech, now report that a bacterium
genetically modified to remove phenylalanine from the blood shows promise in preclinical trials.
The study, reveals that the probiotic can significantly lower Phe levels in both mouse models of
phenylketonuria (PKU) and in healthy monkeys.
The treatment, dubbed SYNB1618, is a reprogrammed version of a widely used probiotic,
Escherichia coli Nissle. In rodent models of PKU, SYNB1618 taken orally after an injection of
Phe decreased the levels of the amino acid by 38 percent compared to untreated animals.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) awarded Synlogic a fast-track designation for
SYNB1618 this April, and researchers are currently testing the treatment in a Phase 1/2a
clinical trial among adults with PKU.
Aoife Brennan, the interim CEO of Synlogic, told The Scientist in May that the company sees
treatment with SYNB1618 as a two-step process. “The first step is to get patients’ blood
phenylalanine under control,” she said. “The next step is to relax the diet, and the hope is that
with this product, patients who are in control will be able to add natural protein into their diet.”
Other biotechs are also developing new ways to treat PKU. For example, the FDA approved
BioMarin’s pegvaliase (Palynziq), a substitution for phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH), an
enzyme that metabolizes Phe. Pharmaceutical companies, such as the rare-disease focused
Ultragenyx, are working on ways to replace PAH using gene therapy.
Synlogic is currently developing bacteria-based drugs for a number of conditions, including
other inborn errors of metabolism, such as urea cycle disorder.

Land Mines Detecting Plants

The plant, a modified version of thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana), is sensitive to nitrogen
dioxide gas, which is released by underground landmines. The leaves of the plant change from
green to red after three to five weeks of growth in the presence of this gas. "They are easy to
spot," says Carsten Meier of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, who served as scientific
adviser to Aresa, the Danish company that developed the plant.
The team doesn't yet know how sensitive the plant is to nitrogen dioxide, and therefore are not
sure how much of the gas is needed to make it turn red.
But they hope the technique will prove useful in field tests. If it does, it should substantially
speed up the process of de-mining. The plant is quite shallow-rooted, and so will only detect
mines near the surface.
The researchers achieved the colour change by manipulating the naturally occurring machinery
that makes autumn leaves red. The genes that produce this red pigment, called anthocyanin,
are normally switched off during most of the year. But the team inserted a gene that turns on
this red pigment-making apparatus in the presence of nitrogen dioxide.
The team has also taken steps to ensure that the genetically engineered plant won't spread in
the wild. They have removed the gene for an important growth hormone, so that the plant needs
a specially designed fertilizer in order to grow.